


Are You Afraid Of....

by longlostintentions



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Boating, Comfort, Could be seen as romantic if you squint ?, Cute Chocobos, Fire, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Open Water, Scary Spiders, Tho you could be, Thunderstorms, You are not necessarily the same reader in every story, fears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-04-19 18:56:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14243673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/longlostintentions/pseuds/longlostintentions
Summary: Just some cute oneshots of the Bros helping Reader with some fears they have.(Will add the last two as soon as I think of them)





	1. Prompto

     You were busy reading one of Gladio's extra books, you didn't notice the sign you passed on the dirt road. You weren't even aware you were making a detour stop. You simply put your book down when the car stopped and stretched as you got out.

“Time to meet the Chocobos!” Prompto chirped. You froze on the spot and tensed, digging your nails into your palms.

“The what?” you asked airily.

“Chocobos!” he beamed again. Noctis and Gladio had already started walking.

“Uh... I think maybe I'll wait here...” you said nervously. Prompto tilted his head.

“What? No way! You gotta come see them! They're so cute!” he pleaded. You let out a low whine only audible to you, and apparently Ignis. He was studying you closely.

“I-I'll catch up... Just feeling a little carsick,” you said. Prompto laughed.

“Thats why I keep telling you not to read in the car, dude!” he said before taking off. You sigh. It seemed like there was no way out of this.

“_____...” Ignis began slowly, drawing your attention. You flicked your eyes over to him in acknowledgement before casting it nervously back to the birds you could see through the bushes.

“Are you... Afraid of Chocobos...?” he asked with concern. You took a breath.

“When I was little... I got kicked by a wild chocobo,” you shivered and stomped to ground yourself.

“I see... That does pose a problem. Considering you said you would catch up...” he replied, his mouth quirked into a sympathetic smile. You groaned again.

“Why not just tell him?” he asked. You laughed weakly.

“I didn't wanna crush his spirit, he's so happy about it,” you said. Ignis laughed.

“Well, I hardly think he'll mind. In any case, eventually you'll need to explain why you're staring at the ground the entire time,” Ignis concluded, resting a hand on your shoulder briefly before going into the ranch.

     He was right, you kept your gaze trained on the path into the post. You bumped into Prompto almost immediately, he really was waiting for you. He grabbed your hand.

“C'mon, you've gotta see this one over here!” he exclaimed. You whimpered and wormed out of his grasp.

“Prompto wait..!” you pleaded. He looked alarmed at your desperation and let go, tilting his head.

“Look I'm.... Chocobos they... They freak me out... I can't get near them...” you started. He looked absolutely shocked.

“What?! But who could be afraid of them? They're so cute!” he tried to convince you. You took a breath.

“Um... When I was little I saw a cute baby bird.. Didn't know what it was... But I went to pet it and... All the sudden this big mama chocobo came out of nowhere. All I saw was feathers and talons and I blacked out...” you said, avoiding his gaze.

“Ow...” he said in sympathy. He hummed in thought then grabbed your hand again.

“Guess you'll just have to start over!” he dragged you away from the pens.

“Uh... I don't...” you wanted to protest but.. He looked so excited.

     He sat you down on the ground, making you glance around nervously. After a minute of rooting around somewhere, he finally came back with a fluffy chick in his arms. The sight was... Definitely cute. Until he put it in your lap. You tensed and stared at the chick, praying there was no adult birds nearby. He clicked his tongue then snuck behind you, sitting on the ground. You nearly squak in surprise as he grabbed you around the middle and dragged you up onto his lap. The feeling of his warm body against your back calms you, and by the time one arm snakes around your middle the chick actually looks kinda cute. His other hand grabs your wrist gently, leading you to the little baby's fluffy head. The feathers were so soft! You couldn't help but smile, and it made him smile in return, resting his head on your shoulder. After a few strokes, he let go of your wrist, petting the chick himself. You scratched its head and it let out a tiny _kweh_. You tensed up and looked around for a bird rushing in to save its child, but Prompto just hugged you tighter, willing you to relax. After a few minutes, the chick fluffed up and waddled off your lap, flapping its wings in the short journey from your legs to the ground.

“Bye buddy!” Prompto called after it, and dammit it actually looked back.

“Cute, huh?” he asked you. You nodded and realized you were smiling.

 


	2. Noctis

     You tried to think of any excuse to stay in Caem. You were needed to help with the garden, maybe you should cook tonight it's only fair, you have a headache you really should just lay down. None of them would work and you knew it. You made one last ditch effort as you all approached the ship.

“You know I'm pretty tired... Maybe I'll just hang out here...”

“You can just lay down on the boat!” Prompto pouted. He was already sitting on his knees on board, hovering over the side of the loveseat to flash his sweet blue eyes at you. You sighed and cast a nervous look to the side.

“Besides, I feel it would be unwise to split up. Best travel in a pack,” Ignis contested.

“Oh come on we all know you're better fighters than me anyways!” you call out. You feel a hand at your back, practically pushing you to board the boat. It's Noctis, the only person still ashore.

“You're seriously just going to sit here all day waiting for us to come back?” he asked skeptically. You looked back.

“I mean that was the plan....” you said hopefully. He crossed his arms.

“What if I order you to?” he asked and though his expression didn't change, you could hear the playful change in his voice. You smile.

“What?! Please, you've never ordered me to do anything,” you point out with a roll of your eyes.

“Well, wouldn't want to abuse my power or anything,” he paused in mock thoughtfulness when you snort at the remark.

“But hey, I gotta do what I gotta do...” he finished. You could tell there was no way out of this. You shook your head and climbed on board, hands shaking a little. You walked quickly to the seat behind Prompto, clinging to the arm of the seat harder than you meant to.

“You alright?” Prompto asked. You smiled weakly.

“Fine.”

     For a second, it seemed like it would be okay. Inside the cove it was narrow, it barely felt like you were on the water. When you pulled out to the bay area you hunkered down a little, but you were going slow enough. It didn't seem so bad. Then you picked up speed, and the open ocean suddenly surrounded you like a curtain was drawn back. It almost made you shriek as you got down low on the seat. Then, the last thing you saw was Gladio looking over at you before the boat lurched just a little and you whimpered, slipping down between the loveseats to curl up on your knees. Like you were bowing to the Tidemother hoping it would spare your life. Your hands covered your ears so you didn't hear Gladio stomping over, only noticed he was there when he sat down on the seat and you could see his shoes next to you. He nudged your side with a foot and you uncovered your ears, you only risked a brief glance at him.

“What's up?” he asked, leaning forward on his elbows to get nearer.

“I just kinda like it down here,” you said with a quiver.

“Uh huh. You afraid of boats?” he asked. You scowled.

“No! I'm afraid of being stuck out in open water! Do you know how many people get lost out there every year?” you tensed. You risked a look up again because now you were feeling afraid and a little sick. Now Ignis and Prompto were both looking down at you too. Ignis had reached over the seat and begun rubbing your back soothingly.

     You nearly laughed in hysterics when the boat slowed down not a moment too soon. You let out a breath as you heard the anchor descend and root the boat in place. You were just giving yourself a minute to relax, but you heard footsteps coming back towards the rest of you, Noctis was talking about something you couldn't focus on. Until he said your name. It took a couple tries but after the second one you came out of it and looked up at him.

“Are you.... Feeling sick or something?” he asked, completely puzzled. He looked at the others for answers. You sat up, careful not to look beyond the sides of the boat if you could help it.

“Um. No. No I'm just...” you weren't sure how to say it, but Gladio beat you to it.

“Afraid of open water,” he said casually, ignoring the squint you aimed in his direction. Noctis looked more surprised than anything.

“Should've said so sooner, dummy,” he scolded. After a moment of thought, he reached his hand down to you. He couldn't actually expect you to stand, could he? You shook your head. To your surprise he just smiled like he'd been expecting that.

“Disobeying your king twice in a day? Careful or you might be tried for treason,” he said lazily, but he definitely looked too smug for your liking. You groaned and took his hand, standing shakily. You tried to look out at the water but the emptiness made you panic so you stared at the wood floors of the deck. He tugged you with him and you just let him lead you, at least until he stepped onto the narrow sides of the deck and you held back.

“If you're that freaked out just look at me or something. C'mon I need you up here,” he said, tugging on your hand.

“Why?!” you asked desperately but he stayed silent, tugging you as he walked effortlessly on the narrow strip of deck. You sighed and took a step, not letting go. Even though he was looking ahead of him, Noctis always seemed to know when your gaze started to stray to the ocean, and a squeeze of your hand would pull you back. It really didn't take you long at all to reach the front of the boat, even though it felt like a lifetime. You sighed but got even more tense when Noctis didn't let go but instead started walking to the railing of the bow. You knew better than to try resisting. You had no idea why he was intent on tormenting you but he was gonna get you there one way or another.

“Can I at least sit for a minute...?” you asked tiredly. He thought for a second then nodded. You almost immediately collapsed onto the deck, squirming as far from the edge as you could. You ended up against his leg, but if he cared he didn't say anything. When he pulled his fishing gear out of the armiger you looked at him incredulously.

“I thought you said you needed me here!” you groaned. He side eyed you before turning his attention back to his pole.

“Moral support.”

You sighed but stayed put, you weren't going back on your own.

     With your butt firmly planted on the ground, you chanced a look around. The ocean was pretty, there was no doubt about that. You just prefered to admire it from a distance. Noctis, however, seemed happier than you'd seen him in a while. In fact he was actually smiling. His enthusiasm was a little infectious, and you smiled for him. He didn't get a lot of happy moments nowadays. Your body subconsciously relaxed as you watched him fish. Despite the fact that very little was happening it was... Peaceful. You found yourself scooting up ever so slightly to watch over the edge. It didn't escape his notice.

     He nudged your foot to get your attention then pointed down at the tackle box.

“Hand me that lure,” he said. You obliged, and he kneeled down anyways to cut off the other lure and tie on this one. He held it out in front of him as he did it and you realized he was showing you. He stood and cast the line, then nodded like he'd decided something.

“'Kay this is where I need you,” he said and you squinted up at him.

“That means you have to stand.”

You started to stand on your own, shakily, before he reached down and grabbed your arm to gently pull you the rest of the way. You couldn't help moving closer to the touch that felt like it was the only thing anchoring you to the deck. He maneuvered his arms to be able to push the pole into your hands. When you realized what he was doing you shook your head and tried to give it back, he wouldn't take.

“What?! Noct I don't know how to fish! I've never been fishing in my life!” you protested.

“Well yeah, that's how it works. Know it's hard to believe but I wasn't always this awesome.” he said straight faced, but your composure broke and you laughed, despite all your efforts not to ever stroke his ego like that. That seemed to be what he was waiting for.


	3. Gladio

      When you and Gladio had left, everything seemed perfectly fine. It was mostly clear, a little sunny even. The worst thing about Lucis (well, besides all the war business) was that the weather could turn on a dime. So whatever it had looked like when you two had gone out on a run was irrelevant, because now grey clouds had rolled in on top of you. Then you sighed because it had started sprinkling of all things. You groaned and slowed to a walk, your legs and your lungs were burning and Gladio was still keeping up a decent pace. At least he was until he noticed you were no longer next to him.

“You comin'?” he asked. You let out a sigh and rested your hands on your legs, still walking awkwardly, you didn't dare stop.

“Yeah, yeah. Gimme a minute. Not everyone is a fucking titan alright,” you chided, but you gave him a tired smile.

“You know I didn't make you come with,” he reminded you. You threw your hands up.

“I didn't know we'd be running across Eos! You said 'Light run'!”

He rolled his eyes.

“Alright, well hurry up and quit bein' a baby cause it looks like it's gonna start raining for real in a minute.”

You huffed and didn't even start catching your breath before you tried to get back on his level.

      As predicted, it took about another 2 minutes for the sky to open up and baptize you. That wasn't a problem, you could handle running in the rain. What you couldn't handle is the look of those clouds consolidating into something darker and more ominous. You hadn't noticed you'd slowed down to look at them until Gladio called out to you again. It took him a couple tries to get your attention.

“Hey! ______! Quit bein' a space case and let's go!” he nodded towards the trail. You couldn't tear your eyes from the clouds.

“Uh, I dunno if we should be running out here. Maybe we should find somewhere to go until it calms down,” you suggested.

“More reason to hurry up and get back to camp,” he returned.

“Are you kidding? I can barely see through this downpour. Besides, Ramuh is like 2 seconds away from smiting our asses so--” as if he heard you (and he probably did) a bolt of lightning struck miles away. It was nowhere near you two, but all the same it made you shriek and huddle down on the ground, covering your ears. The next thing you saw were Gladio's shoes in your vision before feeling his hand pet your head and ruffle your hair a little. You uncover your ears cautiously.

“C'mon, we're gonna go hang out under those rocks till the storm quits,” he said, grabbing one of your hands and tugging you up. You stood nervously, eyes still watching the sky for any flashes of light. He practically had to keep you from stumbling over rocks the whole way to the outcropping he hid you both under.

      Behind you, there were noises. Clinking, dragging, rocks striking. A flare of light made you turn around to see a small makeshift fire pit. It was the first time you'd dragged your eyes away from the storm, and it was a relief. You took off your wet over shirt and let the fire warm your back. Gladio sat next to you, casting you a sidelong look.

“Didn't know you were afraid of thunderstorms,” he said, and he sounded almost apologetic. You shook your head, pausing to flinch when another burst of thunder sounded in the distance.

“Well I don't really tell people so...”

This time thunder sounded much closer, rumbling through the rocks and making you cower a little. Gladio scooted closer, putting an arm around your shoulders. Both to stop you from backing right into the fire, and also to tuck you neatly against him. You didn't mind, he was like a damn space heater.

“Well why the hell not?” he asked. You let out a weak but genuine laugh.

“Kinda makes me feel like a wimp. I mean if I wasn't here you'd be back at camp by now,” you replied guiltily. He shrugged it off.

“Nah, running out in a field in a thunderstorm's just plain stupid.”

       You felt bad for Gladio, every time the thunder rolled across the sky and lighting struck outside your little cave it made you flinch and whimper a little. He looked over or held you tighter every single time. Finally it seemed like he had enough, as he scooped you up and placed you on his lap. The proximity was comforting, especially when he turned and laid on the ground with you resting on top of him. He was surprisingly comfortable, made more so by his hand making long strokes down your back.

“Get a nap in, the storm's gonna be over before you know it. You're gonna give yourself a heart attack if you're on edge the whole time.”

A nap sounded nice, in theory. How were you supposed to sleep with the thrumming of rain and crackle of thunder?

“I don't think I could sleep through all this...” you sighed. He hummed and his eyes scanned the ceiling.

“So this book I got, that I sorta... Accidentally stole from the Citadel library...” he paused as you let out a snort.

“It's a Lucian architecture book. Turns out every new ruler had their own style they liked. S'why all the tombs look so different. Also why so many of the buildings in Insomnia look like they come from a while other continent. Doesn't really stop there, though. They influenced military machines too...”

You smiled and let yourself be lulled by the sound of his voice and the feeling of his hand rubbing your back in slow circles. A heavy curtain of sleep took over as his ramblings faded, just as planned.

      It was Noctis's voice that woke you up.

“Uh, are we interrupting something?”

You blinked as you came back into consciousness, squinting at the brightness flooding into the tiny cave. The fire beside you was out. Gladio's chest stuttered under you as he woke. You groaned and rolled off him, sitting up and forcing your voice to work.

“Does it _look_ like we were having wild sex in here?” you huffed. Noctis only grinned, Ignis sighed and rubbed his eyes under his glasses, Prompto blushed furiously and busied himself looking at the rock formation. Gladio stood and stretched, reaching down to pull you up.

“We were kinda worried about you guys,” Prompto finally said when he was sure the topic was over.

“Kindly let us know if you are staying out next time,” Ignis pleaded.

“Well it's not like we _planned_ to get caught in the storm,” you shrugged. Gladio nudged you.

“You good?”

You nodded.

“Yeah... Thanks...”

His hand clapped on your shoulder before herding them all out of the cave.

 


	4. Ignis

      It was easy enough to distance yourself, even when camping. You'd pull your chair a little further back, or go huddle in the tent if you needed. Every so often you would bring a blanket out and they might look at you funny, but you always had an excuse. When you all were forced to go into the grotto, that was when your excuses run out.

      Initially you'd all gone in there for a hunt, a couple of arachnid menaces who had been sneaking out of the cave to grab passers by and scare the hell out of campers. It seemed like it would be an easy job; go in, kill some spiders, get out. What chance did a couple of them have against 5 experienced fighters? None, as you expected. The problem was the cave was much, much bigger than you all had anticipated. Not only that, it was much, much colder as well. A couple detours wasn't so bad, though. Even if those detours were getting almost completely lost. How big could this cave really be?

      “Uh... Are... Are you sure we're in the right place, Noct?” Prompto asked, looking over his shoulder nervously. A single path led you down to a dead end, a large clearing with stalactites dripping down into a pool. Noctis huffed in frustration.

“Positive. Checked the map _and_ my phone,” he answered. Prompto pouted.

“Man, how do you even get service down here?!”

Noctis shot him a grin and held up his phone.

“Libratech, man...”

“ 'It Goes Where You Go',” you chimed in with the slogan. Ignis halted your conversation with a raised hand as he tilted his head.

“Listen,” he instructed. You all held your breath, trying to zero in on the noise he was hearing. Tiny clicks and scratching noises, like something tapping on the ice. When you heard a quiet laugh, interspersed with daemonic growls, you all turned on the spot. Well you'd found the spider sisters.

      The 5 of you darted off into separate directions, it was always good to distract with bigger enemies. Noctis had the benefit of warping, being constantly above them and generally out of harms way. It made the rest of your jobs a lot easier. Of course he was never one to miss out on a fight. Prompto stayed at range, firing off round after round.

“Some instructions anytime soon would be awesome, Ignis!” Noctis shouted from his spot dangling from the ice covered wall.

“Keep them distracted is the plan! Still thinking!” he snapped back as he surveyed the area. You danced around them, trying to find an opening to slide under and attack them in the soft, vital spots. Gladio was happy to get into the mess, deflecting legs and arms with broad swings. Then one of Prompto's bullets struck the ground with a spark and you had to dodge last minute as the hulking spider scrabbled away. It didn't escape Ignis's notice.

“Noct! They're weak to fire! Gladio and I will knock them on their backs, when we do you must light them up! _____ you'll need to land the final strike while they're exposed!” he ordered. You look at him appalled for a second before barely ducking below a swinging leg.

“While they're on fire?!” you shouted.

“If you're quick you'll not feel a thing!”

Dread filled you, but the plan was already set into motion.

      You made sure to stay out of their way while they tried to get underneath to flip them. It took an almighty swing across their legs from Gladio and an acrobatic stunt over their heads from Ignis but with two loud thumps they were on their backs wriggling. Noctis wasted no time in tossing a flask on top of them. The effect was immediate, lighting the entire area up in a blaze. You tried to ignore the squeals of the daemons as you ran towards them, prepared to jump over and slice through their stomachs. But as you approached the giant flames you hesitated. An image of a house on fire surged in your mind. You tried to push it away. Tried to heed the calls of your name from every side. Tried to block out the sounds in your head from the image. Everything was jumbled together. You hesitated too long. As one of the spiders flipped herself back over, a rogue leg sent you flying back until you hit a stalactite and fell into the freezing water. The water was a shock, and the pain in your head from hitting the rock made you feel faint. Your limbs didn't feel like they were working, even as you struggled to reach the surface. Even as you clawed at the icy edges trying (and failing) to get a grip on them. It felt like years before a pair of arms reached in to help pull you out, and Prompto's worried face wavered in front of you. You did your best to control your breathing, but it was hard when you were shivering so much. You cleared the water from your face just in time to see the remaining spider curl up on its back, burning to a crisp. Noctis dropped gently from his hanging spot, and 4 pairs of eyes all turned to you. You looked down at the icy ground, Shame made your cheeks the only warm part of you.

      There was no time for questions, now getting out of there quickly was a necessity. It was easier finding the way out than finding the way in, but it wasn't quick enough to escape the furtive glances they kept shooting your way. You pretended to ignore them, staring down at the ground in thought. You couldn't reach camp fast enough. Even though it was a little warmer outside the cave, it was still evening and you were still in wet clothes. You peeled them off before going into the tent and digging through your bag... But... There was nothing.

“Are you kidding? I'm out of clothes?” you asked desperately.

“Laundry day,” Gladio reminded you. You groaned, there was no way you were putting your wet clothes back on. Noctis, who was the only one that had any comfortable clothes to wear, rummaged through and tossed you an extra shirt. The only pants he had left were too big, you'd have to make do without.

      You were curled up on a chair in deep thought, putting extra space between you and the campfire, when a plate descended into your vision. It smelled incredible. You glanced up at Ignis as you took it.

“Thanks... I didn't think I was hungry before but...” you trailed off. He rested a hand on your shoulder.

“You'd warm up much faster if you'd sit closer to the fire,” he suggested. You shook your head immediately.

“I-I'm fine.”

He sighed and knelt in front of you.

“You're shivering, you're half bare, and your hair is still wet. You'll need to dry off before you sleep or you'll fall ill.”

You knew he was right... You avoided his gaze and instead started eating.

“You might've told us you're afraid of fire... I'm sure nobody would criticize you,” he said. You rested the dinner on your lap and rubbed your eyes.

“What kind of Crownsguard is afraid of something like fire?” you asked bitterly.

“Sometimes we simply can't help being afraid of something. Regardless, I'm sure you have your reasons.”

You took a breath as the situation played out again in your head.

“I was alone when the fire started...” you began. He gave the side of your head an affectionate stroke.

“You have no need to justify yourself, to me or anyone.”

He stood and examined you for a minute, making you wary. Then he smiled and offered out his hand, which you took without thinking.

“We'll simply have to make sure you're not alone this time.”

It took you a minute to realize what he meant, but when you did you dug your heels into the dirt and froze. His smile was amused, like he was expecting this.

“We wont go close, only to that chair,” he promised, pointing to a chair just outside the ring. You looked at the chair and then back at him warily. His face was so patient and kind, you couldn't really help following him, reluctant as you were.

      The first surprise was that Ignis sat down first, the second, was that he pulled you onto his lap a few seconds later.

“I did tell you that you wouldn't be alone, did I not?” he asked, there was a hint of playfulness in his voice. The warmth started to wash over you like a warm bath and it made you sleepy. He kept up with the campfire conversation, and eventually you joined in as well. The whole time with his arms supporting you. At first, you thought he was just restless, and moving around a lot. After about half an hour you finally caught on that you were inching closer to the firepit as you felt considerably warmer. The strangest part was that you didn't mind as much now. In fact, it was relaxing enough that you could feel yourself leaning against his chest tiredly, and eventually your eyes fell closed.

 


End file.
